MILWAUKEE — Schools generally hope substitute teachers will arrive prepared, maintain order and perhaps leave a few helpful notes. Prosecutors say a woman who talked her way into a Milwaukee classroom arrived with a different agenda: She was bored and hated children.
Amy Jones, 23, faces six felony charges after allegedly posing as a substitute teacher at Rufus King International High School, where she once attended classes herself.
On Sept. 24, authorities say, Jones entered the building alongside students, signed in as a substitute and gained access to classrooms. What followed allegedly included profanity, racial slurs, insults about students’ appearances and sexually inappropriate questions.
Her alleged teaching philosophy was unlikely to appear in a district recruitment brochure.
According to a criminal complaint described by Wisconsin Public Radio, Jones told investigators she went to the school “because she was bored” and said she “hates kids.” She also allegedly acknowledged making racist jokes and inappropriate comments to students.
Local reporting said she remained in classrooms during the first three periods before staff intervened. Employees recognized her as a former student, and she was escorted out.
Jones was charged with one count of impersonating a public employee and five counts of exposing a child to harmful descriptions.
For parents, however, the most troubling question was how someone without a legitimate assignment ended up supervising their children in the first place.
The school district’s initial findings pointed to a failure in the front office. Jones passed through the school’s routine safety screening, but employees did not properly verify that she was an authorized substitute.
The district uses a system called Frontline to confirm both that substitutes are registered and that they have been assigned to cover a particular teacher’s absence. Someone arriving to teach is supposed to be checked against that system before being permitted into a classroom.
A sign-in sheet, in other words, is not a teaching credential.
Principal Doreen Badillo acknowledged the breakdown in communications to families. The school said employees would receive additional training, safeguards would be reviewed and affected students would receive support.
Parents also questioned how the incident was initially explained.
TMJ4 reported that the school’s first notice described inappropriate comments by a substitute teacher. Families were not told until Oct. 5 that the person involved allegedly was not a substitute at all.
That is a fairly substantial correction to the faculty directory.
Court Commissioner Rosa Barillas called the case concerning, saying families send children to school expecting them to be protected from harm. tmj4.com
Jones’ defense offered additional context at her initial court appearance. Her attorneys said she has bipolar disorder and had experienced a problem with delivery of her medication around the time of the incident, according to Milwaukee public radio station WUWM. Those statements represent the defense’s explanation, not a finding resolving the allegations.
The case subsequently acquired another chapter.
Police said Jones was arrested in Oak Lawn, Illinois, on Oct. 9 in connection with a vehicle stolen from a Brookfield, Wisconsin, gym. Brookfield authorities said the investigation involved allegations that she used a false name to obtain access to the vehicle’s keys. That investigation is separate from the school case. tmj4.com
The charges remain allegations, and Jones is presumed innocent unless proved guilty.
For the district, the episode leaves a basic homework assignment: Before putting someone in charge of a classroom, establish that the person actually works there.
